The Healing Properties of Dragonfire
by Kat-Anni
Summary: Laketown is under the attack of a dragon and Tauriel has no clue where Legolas is. She frantically fears he was swallowed by the flames and goes looking for him. A Legriel Fanfiction.


_Hello my fellow readers and writes :)_

_For those who don't know me: Hello! Welcome to my messy writing and my messed up sadistic mindset :D_

_For those who do know me and my writing: GOds I'm so so so so sorry for not uploading in so long. I would LOVE to write more stuff, especially to finish my two in progress stories but GOD, life is a mess right now and I'm writing my thesis and everything's just not in condition to concentrate on much else., both writing and drawing have suffered from it, unfortunately. So please be patient, I guarantee that all will be finished in time :)_

_Anyway! Welcome to my Hobbit FF, I have to say I'm a bit surprised how this story has captured me after all this time. I have to admit as a teen I first hated LotR but now, with the Hobbit movies I'm kinda diving into it more and more and I now even own the books and read them. Oh well, irony is a bitch sometimes. _

_Well, after the Battle of the Five armies I couldn't stop thinking about Legolas and Tauriel. I know there's this whole deal with Kili and her but I just didn't buy that during the movies. I seemed too forced and Hollywood-typical for me. Legolas liking her was pretty much canon from the second movie so I couldn't help but notice little things between them (or maybe imagining, who knows). Long story short: I ship them like f*** Hell. And I'm constantly searching for stories of them but there just aren't ENOUGH of them, sooooo as always, I just write my own to get this pressure out of my system. So here, deal with me letting out Legriel pressure :D._

_Long ass author's note over now, nobody'll read it anyway probably so.. xD. _

* * *

**The healing Properties of Dragonfire**

The fires seemed endless. All around her, houses were burning down, homes stood in flames, people screamed, people ran. But many wouldn't make it, so many were already dead. Tauriel closed her eyes. Memories she didn't need right now were starting to resurface. The elf took a deep breath, banishing these thoughts from her mind. She felt Kili shift next to her and glanced over to him. The dwarf was arguing with his brother, surely about taking more people into their boat or about ways they could help further.

Surprisingly noble, these dwarfs. When the _elleth_ had decided to help their group she hadn't been sure about the other ones. Sure, Kili and her had had a conversation while they had been captured. But ever since then there wasn't much contact until Laketown and her bulging in and healing him.

The others were also far more considerate than Tauriel had thought them to be. They helped her in any way they could aid in the healing process, got her water or plants, applied ointments.

For all her life, dwarfs weren't really what she conversed much with. The elves of Mirkwood didn't have friends in the kingdoms of the dwarfs. It was a long and complicated history between them and Tauriel never really complained. But Thranduil of course wouldn't let the dwarfs just pass through his kingdom. And he most definitely wasn't content with her even being here. OR his son-

Legolas.

Oh by the _Valar_, _Legolas_!

She had completely forgotten about him. How could she have forgotten about her prince, her best friend for centuries? After all, Tauriel had been the one to drag him into this fight. She had pursued the dwarfs against the kings orders and when Legolas had tried to bring her back to the kingdom, the captain of the guard had convinced him that yes, it was their fight to.

And then they had gotten to the dwarfs, fought the orcs and she just…forgot about him?

Had she concentrated on the dwarf and the healing and defied his requests to follow him outside and finish the _yrch_? Had he not called out to her twice? Where was he now? Where were the Orcs? Had he killed them? Was he injured? No, he can't possibly be, surely he defeated the Orcs and was about to return…

Then the dragon had hit the town. As these thoughts were running through Tauriel's mind, she suddenly didn't hear the dwarfs any more. Or the human children next to her. The only thing on her mind were the sounds of flames around her, devastation that filled this town, destruction all too present. The stench of burned flesh filled the air and all too soon, Tauriel felt cold. Even though the flames pressed their heat against the exposed skin of her face, shivers ran through her.

Legolas had been out here when the dragon had arrived. He could have been- he could be-

"Legolas." His name departed her lips now, quietly so but still audible.

Kili looked up to her now, apparently the dispute with his brother had been settled. His dark eyes held a question at her quiet whisper and after a deep breath of fiery air, Tauriel dared look down and meet his gaze.

The fire shone upon the dwarf's bearded face –that was still unusually pretty for his kind - as he raised his eyebrows. Tauriel felt the dry air enter her throat and whatever she was going to say got caught in it.

"I…" she swallowed. Elves didn't stutter. And they certainly didn't fall in love with dwarfs.

Right?

"Legolas, he went after the Orcs. I haven't seen him-" she interrupted herself and tore her gaze away from Kili to look around the wreckage.

The _nawag_ nodded slowly, following her gaze.

"The Elf who was with you. Legolas Greenleaf, right?" he hesitated, looking at her again. "Your Prince?" his voice vary, uncertain. As they spoke, their boat was finally leaving the flames, they were at safely, out of town, out of danger. She should be at peace, but she was not.

Not in the least.

She didn't answer his question, only nodded, her head following the flames behind them, her green eyes still searching.

She had to go back.

"Oh…", he muttered. Again, a nod from Tauriel. Kili's eyes widened and the _elleth_ didn't need to hear him say it to know what he was thinking. He understood why it was a problem, he got why she was at peril. Even if he didn't know Legolas, Kili was also part of a kingdom, even If it was scattered. He knew that losing sight of your superior, let alone the only heir to the kingdom, was a dire thing to do on any mission. On top of it he could probably assume that they knew each other well.

No, he had no idea. No idea at all. Yes, Tauriel knew Legolas. She knew him like her brother, to be frank. Legolas had been a child himself when she was found among her dead parents in the forest. Flames had consumed their village, orcs raided it and hunted them down finally. She had been lucky to be so small she could hide. King Thranduil himself had tended to her for a while along with his wife before finding a foster elf family for her inside the palace. She had been well cared for and raised but Legolas, in the short time she had spent with him along with his parents, had built a fine bond with her. He searched her out after lessons, taught her a thing or two about archery. The prince was the best marksman in the kingdom and spending time with him had always been the light of her days. Sure, life in the palace wasn't half bad but Legolas made her laugh, made her forget the dark hours and the shadows of her past that were still reoccurring in her dreams almost every night. When they were grown, both of them joined the guard and worked their way up from the bottom. Even Legolas, as the prince. He had insisted upon it, Tauriel had heard the argument between him and the king when passing through the hall on that day.

They fought spiders together, rode on patrols together, trained together, even ate together most of the time.

And until the day before, she had never in her life questioned her loyalty to him. Would have never dreamed of _forgetting_ about him while on a mission... _That she dragged him on_.

Their boat hit the shore. In the distance, she still saw the city under attack. Smaug flew over it again and again. Legolas could be in there…in the fire. She took in a deep breath when suddenly, the dragon was slain. It was so sudden and surprising even the elf hadn't foreseen it a bit. The black arrow had hit its mark and with her sharp eyes, Tauriel could spot Bain and his father on the top of that tower before it collapsed. She hoped they were alright , as much as…

Her feet dragged upon grass she hadn't assumed to ever feel under her feet again. The dragon had arrived sudden and unexpected but she had deemed her fate sealed upon his arrival, knowing the tales about Smaug the great dragon. Now that her leather boots touched the grass and the dragon was dead, her mind wasn't really thinking about it.

"I have to go back." She stated. This time, it wasn't a whimper. Her voice sounded clear as a bell, determined as ever, certain of her purpose.

"What? That's madness! The city is falling apart!" Kili was grabbing her arm. It was strange, with him being so much smaller than her.

"You can't, it's not safe." Sigrid provided, stepping before her. Tauriel's gaze wandered from Kili to her, the kind human soul, daughter of the now declared dragon slayer. The _elleth_ locked eyes with her. She was pretty for a human, smart and resourceful. Surely she would understand better than Kili could.

"My prince is still in there. He has to be. I cannot dwell in safety when he is in peril."

Sigrid stared, then nodded slowly. A gaze over to the other people told her that she shared Tauriel's worries. Her father and brother weren't with them and the girl seemed in deep worry.

"Can you look out for Da and Bain then?" she asked. Tauriel smiled and made a short bow with her head, a gesture of regard among her people.

"I'll be careful so you have to promise me to take care of these people, okay?" Sigrid nodded and bowed her head to her, just like Tauriel had. She turned around to look at Kili again. They shared a glance for a second. He was worried deeply, she could tell. But now that he was out of the woods, so to speak, her concern for him had dimmed into almost nothing. It was also overshadowed by the glooming, burning fear for Legolas. What did that mean, exactly? For her feelings? Tauriel did not know and at that moment, she had other things on her thoughts than what her heart could possibly desire.

"Good luck." Kili finally uttered and with another nod, the elf-maiden was gone.

After a short boat ride, she was back in the heat again, flames searing all around her, whisking away houses, homes, people. The stench of burning flesh stung her nostrils again but she tried to ignore it, tried to focus on her sight, the sight of her prince inside this doomed town, somewhere.

Below her feet, a plank collapsed under the flames and she stepped aside swiftly, thankful for her elven reflexes. Same with that instance where a house almost collapsed on top of her. She didn't dwell on neither of those moments for long, her thoughts still somewhere else.

"Legolas!" she shouted into the deafening sound of crackling, consuming fire.

"_Legolas_, where are you?" she said, quieter but still quite audible over the flames. Desperation was creeping into her mind slowly. She could feel the heat closing in around her, soot was on her boots and legs and she had to get out of here if she wanted to survive at all. But something inside her forbade it. She couldn't leave without Legolas. This thought spiked something in her. She couldn't do that. They had been together almost every day for six hundred years. How could she even let him go out there alone to fight the orcs, let alone forget about him until it was almost too late?

Sure, Kili was cute and everything. That thought alone seemed silly to her now. A dwarf? He was on a quest to save his own kingdom, even if he did think highly of her, it was almost impossible to really fall in love in that short amount of time. She should not have those illusions of a faraway land where she could live an exotic life with a dwarf. It wasn't as if royal rules and limits didn't exist elsewhere than the woodland realm. Tauriel of all people knew that Thranduil wasn't the only royal to want to wed their son into other royal and important families.

So was it about that? Was this all about Thranduil's talk with her? Had she thrown herself into this adventure, into distant and exciting new stories from Kili just to dodge the sorrow that talk had ignited inside her?

"Legolas! Legolas, please." She pleaded into the brightly burning sky. "You have to live…" _You have to…_

Her thoughts were running as fast as her feet carried her around the burning parts of town, dodging flames and burning wood. She didn't love Kili, not really. Maybe she realized that now. It wasn't Kili that had made her laugh for the first time since her parents died. It wasn't Kili who taught her how to be perfect with her bow. It also wasn't Kili whom she would have gone back into these flames for. Personally, she was terrified of fire. For any other person, she wouldn't even have considered ever wandering in here. Her insides told her she should be long gone from this place, this village that was falling apart right in front of her eyes. Where nobody was left alive….

Where people had died, so many people….

"Tauriel."

She whirled around suddenly, abruptly halting in her steps. Her red hair swept after her head gracefully as behind her, she could make out the figure she had been searching for.

"Legolas! You're alive!" she exclaimed, running over to him, drawing in a breath of pure relief. Her green eyes looked him over and frowned. He didn't have a scratch on him. His bright blonde hair was devoid of ash, his clothes fresh as a morning breeze and his face bore the only sign that something was wrong with his princely appearance at all – a worried frown.

Remembering the painful talk with the king again, the captain of the guard haltered before she could give into the desire of hugging him, stopped right in front of him. Legolas shook his head, expression unreadable.

"Of course I am. I went after the orcs, as I told you I would. I saw the dragon from afar and ran back to the shore, thinking you were here. This little girl told me you went back in.." he spoke faster than he normally did and suddenly, Tauriel saw that he himself had been in panic. And just as surprising as that realization was, she found herself in his embrace just a few seconds later.

Despite the dreadful smell of smoke and ash and burning flesh around them, Legolas' bright hair smelled of the forest and Tauriel couldn't help but enjoy the gentle warmth of this body in stark contrast with the heat around them. Her eyes closed, the relieved smile spreading across her face even more.

"Why would you do that?" he whispered in her ear and Tauriel's green eyes opened slightly. If she blushed, she couldn't say because it was too hot around them anyway.

"I thought you might have been surprised by the dragon. Still be in here and…" she took a shaky breath. "I thought you had fallen victim to the flames. Just like.." she didn't finish her sentence but Legolas knew what she meant and only held her tighter.

Before he could answer, a cracking noise awoke the two elves from their trance. They had to let go of each other and jump to the other side of the canal to escape the collapsing house. Legolas almost fell into the water, finding his balance and Tauriel caught him. The prince laughed, a delightful sound that didn't quite fit into the atmosphere but still infected Tauriel to smile alongside him.

"I won't be alive for much longer if we stay in here, though. Come on, _mellon_. Let's join the men on the shore." Tauriel hesitated.

"I promised Sigrid I would look out for her father and brother…" her gaze swept around, searching for the newfound Dragon-Slayer. Legolas surprised the she-elf for the second time that day.

"They are both save on the shore. They joined their family just when I arrived." He promised her and smiled, holding out his hand so she could take it. Slightly mesmerized by his smile and astonished, she didn't think any further before taking it. He pulled her with him, jumping around the burning parts of the town as if they were atop the trees of Mirkwood, playing as kids or hunting spiders just a week back. The wind of their speed soon took away the scent of the fire and made place for fresh air when they found the boat Tauriel came back with and took it to the shore.

There, he suddenly seemed a little more withdrawn than before, glancing over at the dwarf that eagerly greeted them. Oh…so he had noticed that. Of course he did. Next to being the best warrior their land knew, Legolas was also her best friend and could read her like a book. Of course he had noticed her behaving abnormally fond of the dwarf Kili. After all, she had abandoned an order of her king to follow and help him. She had also left him to fight the orcs they had followed alone so she could heal him…By the_ Valar_, how could she still call herself his friend after all this, let alone…

"Thank you by the way, Tauriel." He interrupted her thoughts. Confused, she looked up to him.

"For what?" she asked, frowning. She wasn't quite sure, what she had done in the past week to make him at all thankful for any of her actions. But the prince smiled and tilted his head.

"For coming back for me, of course. For caring." He paused. "For worrying." He said, gazing into the distance. At that sentence, Tauriel really wanted to go back into the city, but this time because she wanted to burn. How could she ever be deserving of him? He was the one abandoned by her, forgotten until almost too late and yet, HE was thanking HER?

The captain of the guard swallowed. She wanted to tell him everything, tell him she didn't really love Kili, that it was all just an act out of desperation, what really drove her mad…

But she couldn't. The king's words had been clear as starlight. If she tried anything, he would probably have her head as soon as she set food into his kingdom again. Not that her little trip had helped her any, surely.

So she nodded, withdrew her expression of shock, swallowed her longing to tell him her true desires, and bowed her head.

"Of course, my prince." She said, fist on her heart.

A short flash of pain that flashed across Legolas' face was enough to tell her she had succeeded in her deed of keeping distance. But it also told her that she had been right about her feelings. The pang of guilt upon this small show of hurt on Legolas face was all she needed to feel to be proven right. She never addressed him by his title, hadn't in many years and that puzzled as well as pained him somehow. As they met with the townspeople, she could see his mind was clearly elsewhere as well.

"_He is my king, but he cannot rule my heart."_

Legolas' words from later that day would chase her through the following days of battle. She would think of them often, in quiet minutes of rest or even during the periods where her mind went blank and her body just automatically slew orcs left and right. He had said that if his father didn't take Tauriel back, he couldn't await Legolas as well. She hadn't believed her keen ears when she heard that.

Could she be so bold as him? Could she defy the king's orders to get what she wanted? She wasn't the king's child, surely he wouldn't tolerate her actions this lightly, as her banishment showed once more.

Then, after seeing the hardship of battle for longer than she would have ever wished, Tauriel felt that feeling again and again. The feeling of dread whenever a blade even got near Legolas. The fear of losing him. The memory of being surrounded by fire, fearing that he was consumed by it. Not seeing him anywhere, the thought of him being gone, the thought of her never having a chance to tell him how much he really meant to her. The thought of him dying, thinking that she loved that dwarf instead of him.

While she pondered, she also thought that maybe, Dragonfire wasn't just destructive. Maybe it also had a revealing, almost healing property. It, in a cruel but honest way, made you think about what was most important.

Yes, she decided after all, bringing down another orc with a swing of her blade.

Yes, she could be that bold.

And when this was all over,

she would.

* * *

_I'm sure many of you are hardcore fans of the series and know these small words I translated into sindarin but just for the hell of it, here is a translation: _

**Sindarin Translation**

_Valar_ – Protectors of Arda (kinda like gods in a sense so "by the Valar" would be something like "Oh my god!")

_Ellleth_ – Elf (f)

_Yrch_ – Orcs (plural)

_Nawag_ – Dwarf

_Mellon_ – Friend

_Soooo. yeah. Like it, hate it? I know there isn't anything explicit but I wanted it to fit in with the plot a little bit still. So you can imagine what she does after this, this is a one shot, I will NOT write more. Well maybe I'll make other Legriel fanfiction that will hint on this but I wont make a sequel in that sense ^^._

**_I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me if you did! (or if you didn't). :)_**

_I hope I'm not the only one shipping this, I hate being in the minor ship and it's new for me. So if ANY of you have Legriel ideas or stories AT ALL, please tell me about it, send them to me (I will beta if you want), send me links or stuff that isn't on ff_net (because I've searched all over this website, seriously). We have to stick together :3_

_See ya ~_


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